Images: The Impact of the Revolution

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture / Photographs and Prints Division

ID# 1169858

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Jean-Jacques Dessalines (c.1758-1806), born into slavery joined a maroon community and rose to prominence during the Haitian Revolution. On January 1, 1804, Dessalines declared the new nation's independence and adopted the original Indian Arawak name of Haiti, meaning "mountainous land."